Today, I announce the appointments of Professor Sango Mahanty, Ms Audra Morrice and Ms Hayley Winchcombe to the Australia-ASEAN Council.
The new appointments bring together Australians from a diverse range of backgrounds, each with different perspectives and experiences in Southeast Asia.
Professor Mahanty is a human geographer studying the politics of social and environmental change, and has vast environmental and development expertise in Southeast Asia. Her recent Australian Research Council Future Fellowship explored these themes along the Cambodia -Vietnam border, a region of rapid social and environmental change.
Ms Morrice is a chef, author and a television presenter, and has long been an advocate for forging cultural connections. She is an Ambassador with the Singapore Tourism Board and an Ambassador for Sustainable Gastronomic Tourism for the Pacific Asia Travel Association.
Ms Winchcombe will bring a wealth of experience as Chair of the ASEAN-Australia Strategic Youth Partnership; her appointment will ensure the next generation continue to forge long-lasting ties with the region. Ms Winchcombe is an Associate at Mandala, and was previously an economics, policy and business strategy consultant with Accenture Strategy.
I am pleased that University of Tasmania Professor Nicholas Farrelly will continue to serve on the board for another term. I thank the outgoing board member Ms Tamerlaine Beasley for her substantial contribution to the Council over the past six years.
The Australia-ASEAN Council generates opportunities to strengthen Australia’s connections with ASEAN member countries, comprising over 675 million people.
